Bruins Hand Bears 4-2 Loss to Force Game 7

It looked pretty good for the Bears at the start of Game Six of the Atlantic Divison Finals. Two first-period goals put the Bears up 2-0 after one period. However, the next forty minutes would be a different story.

The Bears came out flying and played arguably their best first period of the entire playoffs, getting a power play goal from Chandler Stephenson and a gorgeous late goal from Chris Bourque. That put the Bears up 2-0 after one period of play. All seemed to be going well until the puck was dropped in the second period.

Providence started the next period hot and erased the Bears’ lead before seven minutes had passed in the middle frame. Some of the Bears’ wounds were self-inflicted, as the coverage around Vitek Vanecek (30 saves on 34 shots) broke down on the two goals.

In a similar fashion to what sunk the Bears in Game 4, it’d be a late second-period goal from Chris Porter of the Bruins that ended up being the winning tally. Hershey was unable to capitalize on a number of chances in the third period, seeming to get back to form of the first period. The Bruins would add one more with less than eight minutes left in regulation that would end Hershey’s comeback. Ultimately, it was a bad second period that lost the game for the Bears.

That sets the stage for a second round do-or-die Game 7 on Wednesday night in Hershey. If that sounds familiar, that’s because Monday was the one year anniversary of Hershey’s Game 7 victory over Wilkes-Barre last season. One year later, another home Game 7, this time against the Providence Bruins.